A Taxing Time for the GOP

In Connecticut, a relatively affluent state where unemployment is running about even with the national average of 4.6 percent, three veteran Republican lawmakers are fighting for their seats. Polls show Rep. Christopher Shays and Rep. Rob Simmons tied with Democratic challengers. This week, a poll by the Hartford Courant and the University of Connecticut found Murphy with 46 percent support and Johnson with 42 percent among likely voters.

As Murphy knocked on doors last week in Cheshire, a prosperous town about 25 miles south of Hartford, no one asked about the 27 tax hikes, a figure Murphy contends is exaggerated. But voters did express frustration with Republicans in Washington, saying the positive economic indicators have meant little in their lives.

"Good economy for whom? It's a good economy for people who already have a lot of money," said Kathleen Viereg, a family physician who was tending her lawn. Viereg said she has patients who postpone treatment because they can't afford rising deductibles and co-payments -- and those are the ones with insurance.

A political independent and undecided voter, Viereg said talk of tax relief leaves her cold when so many people are struggling financially. "The voodoo economics of these tax cuts doesn't add up," she said.

A block away, Joe Norcross, an assistant school principal, said Murphy has his vote because Republicans "want to take care of the wealthy." As for the tax cuts, Norcross remembered getting a check for $300 a few years ago, but "we sent it right into the credit card company."

Murphy attacks Johnson on a range of economic issues, from Social Security to a new drug benefit for Medicare recipients. If elected, Murphy says he will "absolutely" work to repeal cuts in the dividend and capital gains tax rates, calling them "tax breaks for the richest 1 or 2 percent of Americans."

Johnson seems to sense a shift in public sentiment. At a Rotary Club luncheon last week, she spent most of a 15-minute speech explaining how the tax cuts have created jobs and helped poor people.

"You can increase revenue by increasing taxes, and that gives you more money, at least for a while," she said. "Or you can increase revenue by growing the economy. That gives you more taxpayers."

Johnson said dozens of small businesses in her district hired extra workers thanks to a tax credit for equipment purchases. And she challenged the claim that the cuts benefit only the rich, noting that the rate for the lowest tax bracket was cut from 15 percent to 10 percent.

Many Rotarians said they planned to support Johnson. Several praised her long record of constituent service, saying she had increased government payments to their nursing homes and won money to redevelop New Britain's Polish business district. Rotary president Ken Slater, a Democrat, said he was voting for Johnson because "her heart's in the right place and she works very, very hard."

No one mentioned taxes.

Later, Johnson said there was "some truth" to the notion that she wins support from voters who like her personally, while Murphy wins among voters motivated by broad themes such as the economy.

"People know me, trust me and they're behind me," she said. "I feel very upbeat."